Who I Am

Hi! I’m the Running Laminator. For those who don’t know me, I’m a passionate runner, professional kid doctor, recreational poet/writer, part-time running coach, and semi-serious blogger who’s always in training to run the good race while educating, motivating and inspiring the world through running. As an active lifestyle enthusiast and a pediatric obesity expert, it is my personal dream to one day live in a world where exercise and health are so intertwined that routine medical visits will be held outdoors on a run or a bike and where fast food restaurants will become an endangered species. Maybe it won’t happen today or tomorrow, or next week or next month, but one day it will happen. That is my dream, my goal, and my inspiration.

Of course, my introduction to the active lifestyle did not begin with such big dreams. I was never regarded as anything close to an athlete as a kid, in high school or in college. Sure I dabbled in basketball, volleyball, and even football during gym or recess at school, but it was never organized and I was more likely to be picked last or not at all than to ever find myself in a position to contribute anything meaningful to the outcome of the game. That all changed in the spring of 2005 when a close friend, asked me to run around Central Park with him to prepare for outdoor basketball season…just for kicks. I had never run before but it was something new and sounded interesting so I went along. Even though we planned for four miles, I remember feeling so tired after just a mile that I had to excuse myself and walk the rest of the way home. I was so embarrassed.

The rest of the story, as they say, is history. I went back the next day by myself to “make up” the four miles. Then I ran six the following weekend. Then somehow I got convinced to doing the NYC marathon that fall, where I cramped so severely on 5th Ave that I crawled (on hands and feet!) for five city blocks before medical personnel took me to a tent, rubbed me down, and allowed me to finish in 3:26. The following year, I was determined to do things better and ran the Hartford Marathon in 3:11. In 2007, I qualified for the Boston Marathon for the first time in the fall and ran the race in 2009. Last year, I achieved a long standing goal of mine and ran my first sub 3 hour marathon in Chicago on 10/10/10. The following month, I finished the NYC marathon for the 5th time and celebrated by handing out hi-fives to 26.2 people along the way. In all, I’ve run 11 marathons and 25 half marathons. I’m planning to run my first ultramarathon this spring and two more marathons in May. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as what I’ve got planned for 2011. Stayed tuned!

I’d be remissed though if I did not mention my family and all my many wonderful friends both in the real and virtual worlds who’ve supported, encouraged, motivated, and inspired me very step along the way as I transformed from a wannabe runner to a seasoned marathoner. There is no way I could have come so far along in my newfound athletic career or have achieved so many successes in and outside of running if it were not for all of them. Special thanks to the Saucony Hurricanes, The New York Flyers and all my local/virtual teammates for cheering me on and sharing my enthusiasm for training and racing!

To find out more about me, few free to contact me via Twitter, DailyMile, Facebook or send me an e-mail at lam@runninglam.com.